The Geographic Indications Committee (GIC) of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation announced on 21/12/2010 that the application by the Mount Gambier Regional Winegrowers Association to have Mount Gambier declared as a wine region in its own right had been successful. Geographic Indication or G.I. is an official description of an Australian wine region or zone designed to protect the use of that regional name under international law.

Mount Gambier will now join other Limestone Coast regions such as Coonawarra, Padthaway, Mount Benson, Robe and Wrattonbully as specifically defined regions under the GI legislation.

The newly defined Mount Gambier Wine Region includes vineyards from Nangwarry , Kalangadoo, Glencoe and Kongorong as well as vineyards closer to Mount Gambier at Yahl, Moorak, Square Mile and OB Flat.

Speaking on hearing the news, MGRWA President, Terry Strickland indicated that he was both delighted and relieved that the long wait was over. "We began talking about this issue of a Mount Gambier region in about 2003 and now it has finally happened we are excited at the potential opportunities that lie ahead".

July 2010

Mount Gambier GI Application

In May the Mount Gambier Regional Winegrowers Association submitted an application to the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation's Geographic Indications Committee, seeking definition of the Mount Gambier region. Following several years of consultation and the accumulation of required documentation, the application proposes that a Mount Gambier region would include all vineyards of current members, the boundary commencing at Coonawarra's southern boundary, extending west to take in Krongart, then south west to include Kalangadoo and Glencoe, skirting around the Mount Burr uplands to the coast, taking in Kongorong and then following the coast to the east, then north along the Victorian border to the starting point.

A Mount Gambier GI will provide the grape growers and winemakers of the region with a clear definition of place and is a requirement for wines exported into the European Union. It is an essential step in the challenge of getting the Mount Gambier region on the map. Given the rigorous nature of the GI process, it is expected that a final determination may take up to six months.